Valour Guardians 1: Fright Of The Keyblade Bearer
by typhoonboom08
Summary: Sequal to Valour's Light. Roxas finds himself in misery as the world refuses to accept him and fears that he will always be an outcast. His team mates try to help him, but when the Fright Knight appears, will they be enough or will his fear consume him?
1. The Pain Of Unacceptance

**Hey. Welcome back old readers. If you're a new reader, i suggest you read the first story before this one, otherwise you might get a little confused. **

**Anyway, this is story will be a little slower paced from the last one. Where before the team basically jumped from one fight to the next with little time to get to know each other, this one will show the bonds between at least some of the guardians developing, provided i get it right. Well, I'm gonna shut up now. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer:** I'll only say this once. i don't own the shows or the game involved in the story. If I did, why would this be here?

**The Pain Of Unacceptance**

Screams and small explosions echoed through the streets of Boston as metal and cement was blasted away. People ran in fear, clutching children protectively as they tried to escape from the army of brown robots flying through the streets, using fists, blasters and drills to shatter glass and blow away anything that got in their way. Scouring the city, they found and broke into every jewellery store they found, stealing everything of value before moving on their way toward the city bank.

"Yes, that's it. Take it all. Hahahahaha!" The exaggerated, evil laugh overlapped the noises of panic and destruction as a dark figure flew over the seen with an unusually loud megaphone. If anyone had taken a good look at him, they would have noticed that he wasn't anything special. He was a teenaged boy with red, spiky hair and really pale skin, as if he never went out into the sun. He had black makeup creating a weird symbol under his eye and wore all black with metal boots in an attempt to look dark and fearful, but it was clear that he had little to no muscle mass and that anything he was capable of doing was only possible because of his machines. On his back was what looked like a backpack with helicopter propellers spinning on top, his means of flying. "No one will stop me, Jack Spicer, the prince of darkness."

"Hey dumb-dumb, knock off the gloating and give the scrap piles new orders already. The cops are coming." A girl with blonde hair wearing a full body, black burglar suit, complete with cat ears, claws and a tail shouted impatiently as the wail of police sirens contributed to the noise pollution.

Pouting at being interrupted, Jack turned to the approaching flashing lights and brought a wrist mounted communicator to his face.

"Jack-bots! Attack the cops." Right on queue, half the robots switched directions and fired their blasters at the speeding vehicles just as they turned a corner. Caught completely unaware, the cops screamed in terror as the blasts hit their marks, causing a few cars to swerve out of control and into nearby buildings while the resulting impact of the blasts flipped the others upside down.

"What do you know, I guess that they are actually good for something after all." The girl sneered before turning to another jewellery shop and shattering the window, taking everything she could reach.

"Shut up Katnappe, my Jack-bots are state of the art." Jack growled as he landed next to her.

"Whatever momma's boy, just hurry up and get them to blast through the bank walls already. I came for the money, not to listen to you gloat about your toys." Katnappe retorted, putting the freshly stolen jewels into her sack and walking off towards the bank.

"I am NOT a mamma's boy!" Jack shouted in what had to be the most whiney voice he was capable of as he followed her. However, he was quick to comply and leaving a few robots to ensure that the cops couldn't follow, he had the rest blast straight through the outside wall and right into the vault.

"Money. Gold. Oh, this purrfect." Katnappe exclaimed, her eyes full of gold sparkles. "Come on momma's boy, get your bots to gather it already."

"Alright, alright. Sheesh, what's your hurry? The cops are already defeated and it's not like the Xiaolin losers are gonna show up without a Shen Gong Wu waking up." Jack responded casually before screaming like a overexcited child and jumping into a pile of money on the floor, resulting from the explosion. "All this is ours and no one can stop us." He laughed, rolling around and pressing the money to his chest.

"Cocky, aren't you?"

"Huh?" Both of the dark clad villains whipped their heads up as the voice floated down them. When they found the source, Katnappe let out a scowl and a hiss while Jack did what he always did; let out a girlish scream.

"White hair, glowing gr-green eyes, black suit, you're… you're-"

"Danny Phantom." Katnappe finished, hissing again. "Aren't you a little far from home, you freak of nature?"

"About as far as I am." Another voice called from behind them, this time female. Turning their heads again, Jack let out another scream as he saw Kim Possible standing on top of a bus with her arms crossed, smirking down at them.

"Kim Possible!" Jack screamed, jumping back to his feet and jumping behind one of his Jack-bots. "D-d-d-don't come any closer." He snivelled, ruining any chance of looking threatening. The smirk never leaving her face, Kim just flipped off the bus and confidently walked towards the criminal duo. "NO, STAY AWAY!" Jack screamed as tears filled his eyes. "Jack-bots, FIRE!"

The Jack-bot he'd hidden behind and the two flanking it immediately pulled out their blasters and got ready to fire, brining back some of Jack's confidence and causing him to sneer. However, before a single shot could be fired, a black and white blur shot past them, bringing with it the sound of breaking metal and jumped off to the side mere seconds before all three robots blew apart, Jack's sissy scream clear to everyone around despites the small explosions. Turning to where the blur had stopped, Jack's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and another scream left his lips as his eyes locked onto a pair of unimpressed, ocean blue ones and quickly scanned the rest of his foe. The boy had blonde, spiky hair and wore a white short sleeved jacket over a black zip up shirt with a silver cross on the zipper. His pants were dark green at the top and white from halfway up his thighs down. A checkered wrist band was on his left wrist. But what really struck recognition and terror into Jack was the key like swords in his hands, one black and the other white with what looked like a blue and yellow snowflake on the end.

"You… you… you're a NOBODY!" Jack screamed, flinging his arms into the air and running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. "A NOBODY! A NOBODY! WE'RE ALL DOOMED AAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"Will you SHUT UP!" Roxas and Katnappe simultaneously screamed. Roxas was thoroughly pissed off. He was trying his hardest to make the world realise that he wasn't like those he'd come with, yet everyone refused to see it. Now this pathetic idiot was going to remind everyone of his origins. Tightening his grip on his Keyblades, Roxas charged straight at the gothic wimp.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" Noticing Roxas as he turned, Jack gave out his loudest scream yet and threw his hands in front of his face and squeezed his eyes shut just as Roxas got within a foot of him. He was so busy screaming that he never noticed the wind pass him.

Ignoring his urge to blow Jack through a wall, Roxas ran straight past him, letting Oathkeeper lightly graze the boy's arm as he past, and straight to another cluster of Jack-bots. Jumping into the air, he pulled himself into a spin and blazed through them. By the time he'd landed, every one of his targets was a pile of scrap on the ground.

"You guys handle those two." Roxas ordered as Danny landed, worried that Roxas might overdo it. "I'll take out the scrap metal. If I fight the chicken I just might end up killing him."

"No problem. Go vent." Danny responded with a grin, hiding his relief. He knew that Roxas would be infuriated with Jack and was worried that he'd have to stop the blonde. Danny was happy to see that the young Keybearer was capable of rational thought even when angered.

"Both of you go fight the robots." Kim called, dropping into an offensive stance as she eyed Katnappe warily. "Sissy boy isn't going to add much to this fight. I can take care of both of our crooks."

"Well, if you're sure, have fun." Danny responded happily. Taking to the air again, his hands started glowing blue. "Hey bucket heads, how about a little frostbite."

Danny shot the blast and quickly froze five robots through while nearby, Roxas was a one man army. His Keyblades were a constant blur as leapt and swung them from one direction to another, every blow striking with direct precision and destroying it's victim, while effortlessly dodging every attack that came his way.

* * *

"You're friends are talented. Unlike that useless waste of space." Katnappe stated as she prepared her claws. "This'll be interesting. Fighting the monks over and over again quickly gets old."

"Well then, let me add a little variety." With that, Kim lashed out with a roundhouse kick. Katnappe ducked down to avoid it and launched up with her claws, causing Kim to back flip away before charging right back in with a right hook.

The girls continued to exchange blows, jumping back and forth and neither one gaining any ground. Kim was proving to be the better fighter, but Katnappe's claws were proving to be an issue. Kim already had a few deep gashes across her arm and her efforts to prevent that happening again were definitely holding her back.

"I thought that you could take us both down." Katnappe sneered, flipping over Kim as she tried the sweep kick the cat crazed villain before spinning on the spot and thrusting a clawed hand at Kim's face.

"Just give me a minute." Kim grunted, dropping onto her back and ploughing both feet into Katnappe's gut, leaping back onto her feet as Katnappe gasped and staggered, holding her stomach. "Now to deal with the other one while she's down." Kim muttered, turning towards Jack, but keeping a cautious eye on Katnappe.

"Monkey staff!" Jack screamed from behind a garbage can Kim turned to it just in time to see a monkey version of Jack with a staff held in his left hand fly straight her. Instinct quickly taking over, Kim leapt into the air and over monkey Jack. Both landed cleanly on their feet and immediately spun around, Kim throwing a right hook. Jack merely grabbed her wrist and dropped back, using her momentum and both of his feet to launch her into the air with a scream.

"YES! HAHA, OOHOOHOOH! I did it. I beat Kim Possible!" Jack cheered, jumping up and down on all fours, ecstatic over his accomplishment.

"Get real." His cheer effectively cut off, he looked up where the voice came from just as Kim, using her grappling hook, swung down and planted both feet into his face.

"AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHH!" He screamed, his eyes running rivers down his face as he fell up and back into just recovered Katnappe, knocking them both down and dropping the monkey staff in the process. Katnappe hissed in disgust and knocked the moaning, human Jack Spicer off of her as she glared up at the young heroine landing in front of her.

"Grr, I'm going to scratch you to ribbons for that." She growled, leaping straight in, claws ready.

"Better then you have tried." Kim retorted, settling into a defensive stance. In one quick move, she blocked both hands and launched a kick right into Katnappe's chin. Growling in both intensified pain and rage, Katnappe responded with a kick at to the head that Kim barely managed to block before the two were back where they were before, quickly trading blows and knocking over everything that wasn't nailed to the ground.

* * *

The bangs of metal being crushed constantly echoed through the air as Roxas continued his tirade. Despite the length of the battle and the fact that he was moving at full speed, he had yet to show the first sign of fatigue as he ploughed through the dwindling ranks of Jack-bots, leaving a trail of scrap behind him. He'd barely even noticed the green blasts aiding him from the sky.

There were only a few robots left now, all of them mindlessly charging the infuriated blonde. The first one flew right up and thrust a drill right at Roxas' face. Expecting the attack, Roxas dropped and slid below and behind the Jack-bot, jumped up and spun around, sending Oblivion through the Jack-bot with a horizontal slash. The Jack-bot dropped lifelessly to the ground, splitting into two even halves just as the last four blew up in flashes of green light.

"You don't waste time." Danny commented, landing next to the panting blonde. "You killed twice as many as I did and I was shooting a barrage from the sky."

"Now you know what happens when I get mad." Roxas responded heavily before regaining his composure and heading back to the other fight. "Come on, I think it's time to tell Kim to end it."

* * *

Jack watched, shaking on the ground, as Kim dodged yet another of Katnappe's scratches. The battle had shifted, much to Katnappe's chagrin. Kim had figured out her fighting style and instead of the stalemate they'd been in before, Kim was dominating, taking almost no hits while all of hers landed perfectly. Katnappe was fighting a battle out of her league and she knew it.

"Stay still." She screamed, jumping into the air in order to deliver a brutal kick.

"If you insist." Kim taunted with a smirk. True to her word, she didn't take a single step. Instead, she grabbed Katnappe's ankle and swung the wide eyed villain behind her and right into the bank's brick wall headfirst. A few high pitched whimpers left Katnappe's mouth as she fell to the ground, unconscious.

"N-no way." Jack cried, his eyes as big as saucers and still pouring rivers as he stood up and stared fearfully from Katnappe to Kim. "Even the monks had difficulty with her on more then one occasion."

"I fight very differently from Raimundo and his friends." Kim replied with a smirk as she turned to Jack. "So are we going to this the easy way or the hard way? Personally, I don't care which."

"You…you… SILK SPINNER!" He screamed in terror, whipping out the web slinging Shen Gong Wu and firing at Kim. The red head heroine's smirk grew as she jumped and flipping back, avoiding the shot with ease before pushing off a wall with both feet and surging at Jack, her fist pulled back.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Tossing the silk spinner at Kim, Jack dived to the side, narrowly escaping Kim's punch.

"AAAARRRGGHHH!" However, Kim still managed to peg him with the silk spinner tat she'd caught along the way right into the head. "That hurt." He whined, turning back around to face Kim. "Be more careful where you throw things."

"That was intentional, oh brainless one." A cold voice stated behind him. Recognising the voice, Jack tensed and screamed yet again.

"NOBOD- AAARRRGGGHHH-" BANG! Before he could even turn around a flash of white struck his side and sent him catapulting away and into the wall Katnappe had had hit only a few moments before. However, instead of falling to the ground, Jack panicked and tried to pull his head out of the wall before his body fell limp.

"Don't you think that was a bit much for a weakling?" Danny asked, not sure whether to frown or laugh at Jack's predicament.

"He's not dead and he'll heal, though you might want to phase him out of there." Roxas responded as his Keyblades disappeared in a flash of light. "I probably could have hit him more gently, but I just couldn't bear to be called that again." He added a moment later, looking down at the ground sadly as Danny effortlessly pulled a colourless, blue outlined Jack out of the wall and dumped him next to his companion.

Danny and Kim looked at each other with understanding before turning back to Roxas with sympathetic expressions. Before they could say anything, the cops, having finally gotten clear of their cars, ran straight to them and picked up the unconscious villains.

"Thanks for the help. These two caused almost as much damage as the Nobodies did." One of the cops, an elder one with greying hair, thanked the young heroes, though he only looked at Kim and Danny. "It's so good to have you guardians around."

"We're happy to help sir." Danny responded, his happy tone hiding his irritation. It was clear to all three that the cop was ignoring Roxas' existence.

"Now we better get going." Kim said, giving the cop a smile. "We'd best get back to the satellite."

"Of course. A hero's work is never done. I'd know a thing or two about that." The cop responded, shaking Kim and Danny's hands. Roxas didn't even bother approaching the cop, merely moving towards their aircraft. "Come on back any time Kim, Danny. You and your friends are more then welcome here."

"Yeah, I'll bet. As long as they aren't a certain blonde haired boy who just happened to have helped save the day." Kim muttered under her breath as she and Danny headed off and caught up to Roxas. Turning to the boy in question, Kim wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Are you ok Rox?"

"I'll be fine." He responded sadly, leaning into the touch appreciatively. "Lets just get out of here before-"

"HEY! GET OUT OF HERE YOU FILTHY NOBODY."

"YOU'RE NOT WELCOME HERE."

"THE GUARDIANS SHOULD HAVE DESTROYED YOUR HEARTLESS BODY WITH THE REST OF THEM."

"Exactly that happens." Roxas sighed softly, his eyes watering as more and more of the civilians got involved. Kim tightened her grip on the poor boy and picked up the pace towards the hypersonic spacecraft while Danny gave the people a dirty look and flew to and through the ship's wall in order to get it started quicker.

* * *

The people's screams of hatred continued even as the ship rose into the air and took off, back towards the satellite and the comfortable silence of space. In his seat, Roxas felt the last of his restraint snap and sobbed as tears poured freely from his eyes. His companions looked on sadly, wanting to help him, but unable to take the pain away. Danny placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and watched as the boy cried his heart out. Danny and Kim wanted to do so much more, but there was just no way they could help him anymore then being there for him.

"What are we going to do? No one should have to live like this." Danny sighed sadly when Roxas had cried himself to sleep.

"I know. But even we don't have the power to change the opinions of others." Kim responded forlornly as the satellite's hanger doors opened for them. "All we can do is be there for him."

"He needs to know that there are people in the world, besides the Valour Guardians, that don't see him as a monster." Danny said as the ship landed. Picking up the boy in question, he followed Kim out of the ship and of towards Roxas' room. "He needs to find acceptance outside this Satellite. Somewhere where there are a number of people, but no one that'll discriminate against him."

"You are right, but lets worry about that later. Lets just let him rest for now." Kim stated as she opened Roxas' door.

Both looked around the room as Danny placed Roxas on his bed and felt their pity for the boy intensify. They hadn't seen inside of his room before. The room was almost completely bare, only containing the basic furniture. Everyone else, even Namine, had quickly decorated their rooms, painting the walls, putting up pictures and posters, and bringing in other little knick-knacks. The fact that this room was bare, especially since unlike all of the others, he and Namine actually lived on the satellite, amplified the fact that the Key of Destiny had yet to live a real life.

"He doesn't do anything but train, monitor and fight, does he?" Danny said quietly and sadly as he and Kim left the room.

"Unless you count eat and sleep." Kim agreed, walking towards the bridge. "He really needs to get out and live. Even Namine leaves frequently, painting landscapes and animals. We have to do something for him.

"Yeah, but that takes us back to him needing a place that he can go and be happy." Danny responded, shaking his head. "And where in the world could that… I got it." He cried excitedly, running towards the bridge. "Come on, we've gotta make a call."


	2. Roxas' Hardship

**Roxas' Hardship**

It was many hours later when Roxas finally woke up. Groaning, he sat up and looked around, trying to get his bearings.

_Wasn't I on the ship?_ He thought confusedly, rubbing dried tears from his eyes. _The others must have brought me in. All well, time for a shower. I stink._

Stripping off his clothes, stepped into his bath room, turned the taps and stepped under the warm, running water, sighing in relief as it massaged his back and shoulders. As he washed himself, his mind drifted back to his last memories and he cringed, nearly dropping the bar of soap.

Even when his existence first began, he hated the idea of being called a Nobody. Even when he was first told that that was what he was, he found it insulting. Then, as he discovered just how different Nobodies were from the complete people around him and though he couldn't figure out why, it caused a great pain in his chest knowing that he was to be denied what these people got to experience, both emotions and the satisfaction of truly existing as opposed to people like him that were incomplete and were destined for nothing more then to fade into darkness.

But then something happened. The Organisation found Namine, a Nobody that could somehow feel every emotion. Roxas found this to be amazing and was drawn to her, hoping that she would share the secret with him, so that he could feel and experience what the complete people did. But he didn't expect anything like what she told him.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

"_Why did you even ask me for the secret?" Namine asked, looking at the black clad blonde before her._

"_Because I want to be able to feel emotions. I can't stand the idea of being emotionless for all my existence. I want to know how real people, complete people live and what they feel." Roxas responded, looking at her desperately. "It's not fair that I don't get to feel like they do. I have to know what it's like to feel happy and excited and angry. I have to know, I need to know what it's like to feel."_

"_But you've already proven that you can feel what they do." Namine smiled, causing Roxas to give her a dumbfounded look. "You've already shown me desire, curiosity, confusion and desperation. From the way you talk of complete people, I can also tell that your jealous of them. You are full of emotions. My guess is that you just don't remember what they felt like before you became a Nobody and as such you don't realise that you're feeling them."_

_**End Flashback**_

**

* * *

**

Roxas had nearly fainted when he heard that. After that, he payed more attention to the random sensations he felt throughout the day and would return to Namine whenever he could and describe them to her. With her help, he figured out what confusion and curiosity were before moving on to boredom and irritation and on to longing and sadness. Finally, when he walked into the dungeon with a smile on his face, Namine's first words were 'Wow, someone is happy today' and he actually felt complete. He'd felt every emotion he knew of and even some he didn't.

It wasn't long after that that Roxas found something else that separated him from the other Nobodies of the Organisation. After the more strenuous activities he was required to do, something in his chest would thump heavily.

_"Well who knows, maybe you've hidden a heart in their." _Was Axel's mocking response when Roxas asked him about. Frustrated with the lack of a serious answer, he once again went to Namine. She had him let her touch his chest and with a smile told him that Axel, though he was only teasing, was actually correct; there was a heart beating inside the blonde's chest. It was then that Namine revealed everything to him about herself, including who she came from, the heart piece that somehow grew into a full heart inside her chest and that how she and Roxas were created together, when Roxas' other, the Keyblade master Sora ripped both his and Kairi's hearts from his chest.

That night he had to stay in his room to hide the happy tears that poured uncontrollably down his face. He had a heart. That meant that he wasn't a Nobody right? That he wouldn't fade into darkness. That he was normal.

However, one fact quickly crashed down on him. He was still number thirteen in Organisation 13 and if he tried to leave, he'd be killed. He was forced to continue living he'd always known, however, now he had to be careful to hide his emotions. If the others figured out that he could actually had a heart, who knew what they'd do?

When he figured out exactly what sort of things the Organisation did, the need to flee increased exponentially and it was only his worry for Namine's safety that kept him from risking it and taking off. Instead, the blondes chose to bide their time until they could escape the Organisation forever and live as true people.

When the Organisation brought the castle to Earth and seven powerful heroes immerged with the full intent of taking them down, it seemed as if Roxas and Namine's prayers were answered. Not only were they able to escape, but they managed to destroy the Organisation completely, freeing the young blondes from their former lives forever. They even managed to make new friends. Things were finally looking up.

However, the world had gained too much of an impression of Nobodies and though Namine managed to be accepted by the majority of the world, having been a prisoner of the Organisation and possessing a shy, sweet and harmless personality, Roxas was accused of being just like the rest of his 'kind'; a heartless, despicable monster that should never have existed and should be destroyed. Once again, he was denied the life he craved and forced to be an outcast that no would miss and everyone wanted destroyed.

A sudden shiver snapped the Keybearer out of his thoughts and he noticed that the water had gone cold. Turning off the water, he quickly dried himself and stepped back into the main room of his quarters, putting on a pair of blue jeans and a red shirt he got from Danny. Going back into the bathroom, he tried to tidy up his naturally messy hair until it looked like it usually did and wiped away a few tears from his face before leaving his room and heading to the bridge.

_There should be something to do there. Even if there isn't any paperwork or people's files to update, there's still monitoring the planet._

* * *

"So Master Fung's ok with it?" Danny asked, smiling up at the face on the monitor.

"Yeah, he's fine with it. He knows Roxas is a good guy and is more then happy to help him find a little peace. And this is the perfect spot for that, it's beautiful, peaceful and the only possible way any anti-Roxas stuff could show up here is on Kimiko's laptop."

"Great. We'll send him down when he wakes up." Kim responded, sighing in relief. "We'll see you later Rai."

"Bye guys." Smiling, Rai ended the transmission, leaving the screen blank a moment before the door opened.

Roxas walked into the room to find all it's occupants staring at him with expressions varying from concerned to happy.

"Why are you all staring at me like that?" He asked, a little unnerved.

"Well, we've been worried about you." Kim answered. "Both because of what happened today and simply because you're not living right."

"What do you mean by that?" Roxas asked, frowning and trying to figure out whether or not he should be offended. "I sleep just fine, I eat the right amount and I'm active. What aren't I doing right?"

"You don't relax." Gohan responded gently, trying to convey that they weren't being insulting with his tone. "You're either working or asleep. We've been a team for nearly a month and you've work everyday. Even Namine gets out of her to relax, shopping and drawing things. You haven't found the fun in life. You haven't even looked for it."

"I've been busy trying to make the world not hate me." Roxas retorted sadly, dropping his eyes to the floor. "I want to be accepted."

"And you will be." Danny said reassuringly, taking a step toward the saddened teen. "But that's going to take time and doing nothing but exposing yourself to the prejudges people won't do it any quicker. It'll just make you miserable."

"You need to find a way to relax and have fun. To de-stress." Ben nodded. "You have to have some fun in your life, otherwise it's not worth living. Take me for example. Aside from saving the world and schoolwork, I play sports, watch TV and hang out with my friends. And drink my weight in smoothies." He added with a goofy smile.

"And I do cheerleading." Kim joined in.

"I play video games." Danny said.

"I like going flying and swimming." Gohan continued. "Namine loves drawing, Gwen loves shopping and reading and Jake's always bragging about his rap skills and skateboarding prowess. You need to find things that make you happy and de-stress too."

"Which is why I asked Rai to get clearance from Master Fung for you to go to the temple for a few days." Danny continued with a grin. "And he said yes. The temple's out of the way, in a very quiet part of China and I promise no one there will judge you. And there's no one better then Rai when it comes to teaching someone to relax."

"You want to send me off?" Roxas asked, feeling like he'd been kicked.

"We want you to be happy." Gohan said warmly, placing a hand on Roxas' chin and gently raising it so their eyes met. "We have no intention of letting you out of our lives if that's what you think we're doing. Sorry Rox, but you're stuck with us." He finished with a smile.

"Just go and enjoy yourself. Learn what it's like to be human." Kim said, stepping up beside Gohan. "And make sure you find some things you like because when you come back, we are going to decorate that empty room of yours."

Looking around at each of his friends in turn, Roxas was relieved to see only kindness and concern crossing their faces. For a minute he thought they were trying to get rid of him.

_I need to learn to trust them more too._ He thought as he rubbed his watery eyes. _I guess there is a lot I have to learn about being fully human._

"Ok. When do I leave?" He asked, deciding to comply. Smiles returned to the others' faces at that, happy they'd gotten through to him. They knew he still had a lot to learn about trust. It was a good sign that he was accepting their words.

"Whenever you're finished packing some clothes." Danny responded happily. "Tell me when you're ready. I'll give you a ride on my way back home."


	3. The Sanctuary of The Temple

**The Sanctuary of The Temple**

Roxas sighed, enjoying the feeling of the wind brushing against his skin as he stared at the structure before him. It was a very interesting sight to him. The temple's design was one that spoke of much older times, similar to buildings Roxas had seen in much more primitive and cultural worlds like the Land of Dragons, yet it was well maintained. You'd think that it was a young building looking at it from Roxas' point of view.

Looking around the area, Roxas found what Raimundo had said to be true. The temple was the only structure for miles, isolated from the rest of humanity. Yet instead of giving it a lonely feeling, the temple seemed to have a warm and peaceful air to it, welcoming anyone who approached.

_I can see why the others chose to send me here._ Roxas thought, letting a small grin cross his face as he started towards the stairs to the entrance. _Nothing around here seems to give off any hostile nature. Of course, I won't know for sure until I see all of the temple monks, but I think this will prove to be a very accepting place._

"Roxas!" An excited voice called, pulling the blonde from his thoughts. Looking up, Roxas felt his grin grow as a happy Raimundo Pedrosa dropped from the sky. "About time you got here. We have everything set up for you. I even managed to convince Master Fung to give us a few days off training, so now I can use all the time you're here to teach you how to be lazy."

"You do still have to do chores Raimundo." Rai groaned as the duo came to the top of the stairs and found themselves standing before Master Fung. A little behind him, the other Xiaolin Dragons walked up, each with a grin directed at Roxas. "But lets not worry about that now. Welcome Roxas, it is a pleasure to finally meet you."

"It's an honour to meet you as well Master Fung." Roxas responded, bowing his head slightly. "And thank you for letting me come here."

"You are quite welcome, young one." Master Fung replied, amazing Roxas with the amount of warmth and respect the wise man's eyes directed towards him. No one outside the Valour Guardians, not even Gohan's kind-hearted, and somewhat childish, father, had ever looked at him like that.

Seeing the boy's face and knowing that he wasn't going to responded at that point, Master Fung waved his hand towards the temple door. "Raimundo will show you to your room. By the time you have placed your stuff away, we shall have dinner ready. I shall see you there." With that, the wise man walked back towards the temple, leaving Roxas struggling not to cry again, though this time it was in gratitude. The man had never met Roxas before and knew where he came from, yet he still treated him with kindness. Roxas had expected that, at best, the elder monks would simply ignore him. Yet here was the temple master accepting him with kindness the moment that they met. The only other people to treat him like that when they met were Namine and Gohan, and even they were wary of him for the first few minutes.

"Why are his eyes watering? Did he get hurt on his last mission?" Omi asked, bringing Roxas back to the present.

"Not now Omi." Kimiko replied quietly. "I'll tell you why later."

"You know Kimiko?" Omi exclaimed, a little too loudly. "But how could you possibly know what's wrong with him? You have never talked to him."

"Omi, he's standing right here." Raimundo growled irritably.

"Yeah, so?" Omi asked, not understanding the problem.

Rai sighed and turned back to Roxas with an apologetic look while Kimiko hit Omi in the head. "Sorry about him Rox. Come on, lets head in. you're lucky, you actually get a bed room. And a mattress!"

Roxas grinned in amusement as Raimundo started ranting once again about his less then desired sleeping conditions and followed the wind wielder inside.

* * *

Dinner proved to be an interesting affair for Roxas. The young monks' arms reached all over the table, grabbing whatever they felt like eating and in some cases batting arms away from their own plates. Roxas, who had always just prepared a plate for himself and ignored everything else on the table, couldn't take his eyes off the unpredictable, and sometimes violent, disarray.

"Omi, that's my stake."

"But Clay, I want one. You have four others."

"Omi, if you don't put down the rice bowel, I'm going to hurt you."

"Rai, would you pass a partner the ketchup?"

"That depends, am I gonna end up wearing it again?"

"Oh come on, one bottle explodes on ya and I hear about it for life."

"Hey, you don't wanna know where ketchup ended up."

"Kimiko, my book says that I should ask you for a cup of tea- OW!"

"The next time you do or say anything involving your 'ancient guide to females', I'll knock YOU back into ancient times." Kimiko yelled, towering over Omi's fallen body as he shook where he lay on the ground, holding a red fist mark on his head. "It's called ancient for a reason you numbskull."

"Is this normal?" Roxas asked Rai perplexedly, not sure whether to be amused or worried.

"For the rest of the world? Not a chance. For us? It's a daily event." Raimundo responded with a grin, taking a sip of water.

"This is almost as weird as watching Goku eat his weight ten times over while Chichi nags before the average person eats even one plate."

"Yeah well, the Possibles are the only people associated with the Guardians that could possibly be considered all normal. And even they have the twins." Rai shrugged before going back to his food. "Just eat and try to ignore us. The only things you might need to worry about are flying cups and exploding sauce bottles."

"Rai!" Clay exclaimed exasperatedly, unconsciously squeezing the bottle in his hand. Right on queue, ketchup exploded out towards Roxas. Seeing it coming, Rai whipped his hands out and blew it away and right to where Omi was just getting up.

"AAHH! I'm being attacked. AGAIN!" Omi cried, rubbing his eyes desperately, trying to clear his vision.

"Sorry about that partner." Clay said sheepishly, putting the bottle down.

"Ok, I stand corrected." Roxas muttered quietly, only Rai hearing him. "This is the weirdest meal I've ever attended." Raimundo could only chuckle in response.

* * *

After doing the dishes, the monks spent the rest of the night teaching Roxas how to play poker. It proved to be very amusing for Roxas. He grinned more then once when Clay got confused as to which version they were playing and actually laughed as Omi repeatedly screamed 'go fish' when the others would place their cards down.

"Wow, I've never heard laugh before. It's usually just a chuckle at the best of times." Rai comment with a grin. Roxas just blushed in response and looked back down at his cards with a grin of his own.

_So this is what real fun is. Now I know why Namine always goes off painting, if it gives her the same feeling._ Turning his attention back to the others, his grin grew into a smirk and he laid out his cards.

"Royal flush, right?"

* * *

"So I take it you enjoyed yourself tonight?" Kimiko stated more then asked, smiling at the Keybearer as she led him back to his room.

"Yeah. This group is definitely different from the ones I've joined before. Hanging out with you guys is without a doubt a fun and amusing experience." Roxas replied before yawning.

"Good, I'd hate it if someone thought we were boring." Kimiko said happily, stopping in front of his door. "Well, we've taught you a card game. Tomorrow, I'll teach how to play Goo Zombies. It's a video game" She added, seeing him looking confused.

"Oh, ok. Well, goodnight." Roxas closed the door as Kimiko turned back towards her quarters and leaned back on it, sighing happily. It was rare that he felt happiness like this, the last time being when they destroyed the Organisation. The others always kept him in the conversations they had on the satellite, but they couldn't really do too much while on monitor duty and before this, Roxas only ever left the satellite when an alert was sounded.

"Now I know what I've been missing." He said softly, changing into sleep pants and a black singlet before climbing into bed. One last thought crossed his mind as his mind began shutting down and sleep fell upon him. _I am so going to lower my working hours._

* * *

The next day, the only time Roxas didn't smile was when he was too busy looking curious. The monks were determined to show him everything they enjoyed in one day. For most, it would have been annoying to have so many people wanting to do things with you at once, but Roxas smiled with joy at the prospect. Straight after breakfast, Omi challenged Roxas to a match, only for Raimundo to pull the blonde away with one hand, a soccer ball held in the other.

"You kick the ball with the side of your foot. Dribbling the ball is when you give it light kicks, just to move it a few inches ahead of you. The objective of the game is to kick the ball into the opponent's net. Oh yeah, and unless you're the goal keeper, you can't touch the ball with your hands. But your head and chest are fine."

"I usually only use my feet for manoeuvring." Roxas muttered. "This might be a bit difficult."

"Don't worry, we'll go slow. Besides, with the way you move and angle your feet, dodging and leaping up every solid surface imaginable, you should do fine. Here, you can even look at your feet." Raimundo replied confidently, passing the ball to Roxas.

The two spent the next couple of hours passing the ball to each other and Rai showing Roxas moves he frequently used, before they played a small game.

"Looks like I'm going to score again Roxas." Raimundo called happily, charging down the field with the ball. Just as he was about to shoot, a blonde blur crossed his path, kicking the ball off to the side and forcing Raimundo to either jump or fall over. Landing back on his feet, Rai turned just in time to see Roxas jump back up to his feet and take off to the other end of the field with the ball. "Hey, get back here blondy."

"Not a chance monk." Roxas shouted back aiming the ball up to the approaching net. Noticing Rai approaching, Roxas kicked the ball as hard as he could just before Raimundo tried to tackle him and knocked it right into the middle of the net. "I SCORED." Roxas cheered happily, throwing his arms into the air.

"Nice shot Rox." Raimundo complimented, patting the excited blond on the back before smirking cockily. "But lets see if you can do it again."

Roxas smirked right back

Roxas smirked right back "You're on."

* * *

"Ok, now slash the red ones and jump over the blue ones." Kimiko advised, looking over Roxas' shoulder. Roxas' tongue stuck out of the side of his mouth as he followed her orders, making his character sash at one zombie before making it jump and run away from another. "See, it's not that hard."

"No, it's not. It's actually surprisingly easy." Roxas replied happily. His natural fighting instincts were making fighting the electronic enemies simple. The only trick was remembering what button did what. Roxas gave one more slash and congratulatory music sounded.

"Wow, you beat level three easily. I don't think you'll find many video games difficult." Kimiko said with a smile.

"If you are done on that field of battle, then join me on mine." Both teens looked up from the flashing 'You Win' on the screen to find Omi standing before them, his arms up, ready to strike.

"Omi, why are you so determined to fight Roxas." Kimiko asked exasperatedly. "He didn't come here for training, from what Rai says, he does enough of that as it is."

"Yes, and that is part of why I want to fight him." Omi responded, not taking his eyes off Roxas' frowning face. "He is a great fighter and a Valour Guardian. I want to prove that I am as strong as any one of them. That if I was there, I would have defeated every member of Organisation 13."

Roxas eyes darkened at that. The tone Omi was using associated Roxas with the Organisation. While it was true that he was once a part of it, he wasn't ever like them and never did anything wrong by anyone's sense of morality.

However, before anything could come of it, Clay jumped down from the tree, catching everyone by surprise.

"Sorry partner, but I promised to show Roxas how to ride a horse now." Clay said happily. Grabbing Roxas' arm, he lead him off towards the horses while his three companions were still getting over the shock of him dropping by them, effectively stopping any arguments between the naive cheese ball and the fuming Keybearer, leaving Kimiko to knock some sense into Omi.

"Omi didn't mean for that to sound insulting partner. He's just jealous of Rai being in the Valour Guardians and wants to prove that he's the best fighter out there. What better way is there of doing that then to challenge someone as tough as the people who caused the Guardians to form in the first place?" Clay said soothingly, trying to calm his fellow blond down.

"I know, Rai's mentioned more then once that Omi's tactless, and that he just wanted to fight me but-"

"What he said and how he said it hit a repeatedly brutalised soft spot." Clay finished, nodding his head sympathetically. "Well don't worry, Kimiko we'll shut him up." Now lets ride." He finished, opening a stall door and leading out two saddled horses. Roxas, having not seen much animal life in person before, stared at the majestic beasts in wonderment. For the rest of the afternoon, Clay and Roxas rode around the fields outside the castle walls, Roxas quickly mastering all of the basics as Clay told him of them. By the time the sun was getting ready to set, the two were galloping, their laughter echoing throughout the air.

* * *

After putting the horses away, Roxas searched the temple for Raimundo. He hadn't seen his friend since they'd left the soccer field and he wanted the wind-walker's opinion on all of the recreational activities and listen to the cds Rai had promised to show him.

A flash of light caught his attention from around a corner, followed by voices he didn't recognise. Curious, he stepped into a small room, containing only a table and chair supporting a laptop and a laughing Kimiko respectively.

"What's so funny?" Roxas asked, stepping into the room and up to the temple's only girl.

"It's a show I used to watch all the time back home." She answered, moving slightly to let him see the screen. He couldn't understand what the characters were saying, seeing as it was in Japanese, but he still chuckled when one character angered another into hitting him with a mallet and sent him spiralling into the sky.

"Making violence funny. That probably isn't a good thing." Roxas commented, though the grin never left his face.

"Yeah, but who cares, humour is humour. Let parents deal with teaching the kids that knocking someone into the stratosphere isn't nice." Kimiko replied, turning to Roxas and missing the news update logo that came onto the screen.

However, as the man spoke, her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and her head snapped back in time to see a video clip of the battle at Boston. The news reporter continued to speak as Roxas was displayed knocking Jack's head through the wall and even though he had no idea what the reporter was saying, his tone made it clear as day to Roxas that they were once again discussing how he shouldn't be allowed to live.

His heart sank even lower as the reporter introduced other people who also expressing hate-filled rants as a picture of him sat in the background. Feeling his eyes going watery again, Roxas took off just as Kimiko shut the site down.

"Roxas, wait!" She called, worry evident in her voice. However, Roxas just kept running right out of her sight. "Oh man, this is really bad. I gotta find Rai." Kimiko muttered worriedly and dashed off to find the wind wielder, cursing the idiocy and cruelty of people the whole way.

* * *

A panicky Raimundo searched high and low throughout the entire temple, desperate to find his friend. Kimiko told him what happened and he had to fix it. He wasn't sure how he'd do it, but he would.

_The problem is I have to find him first._ Rai growled, picking up his pace. Giving up on the inside of the temple, he shot out into the courtyard, scanning every rock, tree and any flat or vertical surface he could find.

"Come and Rox, where did you… aha!" Rai cheered, looking up at the temple vault. There, sitting on top, wrapped into a ball, was Roxas, staring sadly into the starry sky. Wasting no time, Raimundo gathered the wind and flew straight to his team mate and friend, landing beside him and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Kimiko told you what happened?" Roxas asked numbly, his eyes never leaving the sky. He already knew the answer.

"Yeah. How are you?" Rai asked softly.

"Oh, I'm fine. I just got told I shouldn't exist in another language. How many people get two hear 'I hate you, go and die somewhere' in like fifty different languages if they want to?" He asked sarcastically. But there was no aggression in his words, only bitterness.

"Eu não odeio você. você é um dos melhores amigos que eu já tive. How many people get people calling them one of their best friends in multiple languages?" Rai responded, smiling warmly before his expression turned serious. "Roxas, stop looking at this situation on a global scale. Actually, stop worrying about it period."

"Huh?" Roxas cried, his head whipping to face Raimundo, his eyes wide with shock.

"You care too much about the opinions of complete strangers and as a result, you're miserable." Raimundo explained, making sure the warmth and concern he felt for his friend stayed in his eyes. "Yes, it's painful knowing that the world is against you, but you would be so much happier if you just focused on and cared about the opinions of people that matter."

"And who exactly are the people that matter?" Roxas asked, not understanding. He'd always gone be the principle that everyone matters.

"The people that matter to YOU are the people you call your friends and family." Raimundo answered. "The opinions of total strangers shouldn't mean anything to you. Those of us who know you have seen that you aren't a heartless monster, that you're kind. That's all that really matters."

"Maybe." Roxas just leaned in as Rai pulled him into a one armed hug and stared back up at the sky. His sadness wasn't entirely gone, but it did feel good to know he was with such a kind person. Who knew Rai could be this deep and reassuring?

* * *

Deep in the eerie, green realm of the Ghost zone a giant, medieval castle floated menacingly, for all eyes to see. Little more then the green glow of the realm and a bunch of floating rocks surrounded the dark, ominous structure for only the bravest or stupidest ghosts would dare go near it. For deep within resided two of the most evil and feared ghosts of all time.

One of these ectoplasmic titans, one of the two most powerful ghosts ever to exist, was sealed within the coffin of eternal sleep, something every ghost, ghost hunter and citizen of Amity Park was thankful for. The other however, was far from contained, remaining where he was only because he'd chosen to.

On the giant throne sat a ghostly knight. He wore black and dull grey armour. His face was completely hidden within his mask, only his glowing, malice filled eyes shining through the solid darkness where his face should have been. Purple flames shot out of the back of his head and halfway down his legs. At his side rest a glowing, green sword. The weapon gave off waves of malice on it's own, as great as those that came from it's master, and sent shivers of pure terror through anyone who came near it.

"What is it with the mortal realm? Fear is decreasing." The figure growled, his clenching fists cracking his armrests. Waving his hand, he summoned an image of the mortal world on the far wall, searching for his answer. A minute later, the armrests shattered completely as a roar of rage echoed through the entire castle. "Of course. Them." The image continuously flickered from one fight to the next, each time showing the guardians fighting the dark forces. "Those adolescent brats continuously take down the worlds most dangerous threats and as a result, the people lose the fear they held, both because of those evil doers and because the kids are proving their ability to take on the rest. Typical, I should have known. Every time heroes rise and gather, fear fades. Therefore my power fades. It's time to remove them as a factor and bring fear back, more powerful then every before." Letting loose a malicious laugh, the Fright Knight enshrouded himself in his flame cape and shot off in a flash of purple. "Beware Valour Guardians. You are about to be consumed by fear."


	4. Fear's Peak

**Fear's Peak**

"Ha HA! I knew you wouldn't be as good as me."

"You pain in the… LIGHT!"

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Raimundo and Kimiko watched unaffectedly as a yellow blur shot into the air and away from the temple, the screaming fading as it did.

"Looks like Omi did it again." Kimiko stated as the yellow dot began it's decent, crash landing near a tree just outside the temple grounds.

"I told him not to get aggressive with him." Rai shrugged, turning towards where the youngest monk had taken off from. "Now let's go see the damage."

It didn't take them long to find Roxas. They caught him just as he left the training grounds, heading towards the temple, drenched with water.

"What did he do this time?" Kimiko sighed as Roxas noticed them, wiping a strand of hair from his eyes.

"He decided that I needed training the ancient art of 'dodging the bucket of ice water'." Roxas replied sarcastically, starting to shake.

"So you sent him up like a rocket." Raimundo snickered, patting him on the back. "I'm so proud of you. I gotta remember that one."

"Yeah well. Now I'm heading in for a towel and dry clothes. I'm freezing." Roxas muttered, though a small grin had grown on his face, and headed inside.

"You don't think he's all that mad do you?" Kimiko asked, watching him go.

"No, just cold and irritated. I don't think Omi did any real damage this time." Raimundo responded before grinning. "Besides, I think he got a sense of satisfaction blasting the pain in the butt." With that, the two headed off, figuring that it would be best to check up on the wayward monk.

* * *

The streets of New York were as busy as ever. Everywhere you looked, the footpaths were crowded and the streets were full of cars not able to move an inch, honking at each other. A place forever filled with frustration and chaos. The perfect place to create fear.

"FINALLY!" A man snapped at a cross-section as the lights changed, hitting the accelerator. However, just as he started moving a, a swirling, eerie, green energy started swirling in the middle of the cross and steadily grew in size. "AAAAHHHH!" The screeching of the car's breaks joined the screaming as the man hit the break, managing to stop half an inch from where the portal finished growing two seconds before a streak of purple fire exploded out from the middle.

"Yes, that's it. Scream. Let your fear grow." Came a dark, malicious voice as the purple flames pulled back, revealing the ghostly knight to the citizens. "Beware living realm. For the Fright Knight, the ghost of fear, has returned." With that proclamation, he raised his hands and fired purple beams all around him, revealing in the destruction and terror filled screams. "Yes, that's it. Be afraid. Be terrified. Make me unstoppable and bring the Valour Guardians running. Hahahaha!"

* * *

Namine's gaze was focused on the man screen up in Valour's Light's bridge, watching as Danny and Big Chill dodged another explosion. A giant, bald Saiyan calling himself Nappa had descended to Earth in the middle of Ohio and, with the aid of his little, green minions, was attempting to conquer the planet. It wasn't too big of an issue, Gohan was stronger then the bulky Saiyan and the minions lacked the power their master possessed, but with twenty minions, and all of them throwing energy blasts and flying around, it was a mission that required time and numbers.

"This guy's fully aware of each person's power levels and where they are thanks to that device on his face." Namine muttered, turning her attention to the keyboard as the image changed to two little, green guys jumping in between Jake and Gwen's shots at Nappa. "If I could just hack into it…" Just as she scanned the device and started working on hacking into it, an alarm sounded and the second, large monitor flashed on just in time to reveal the Fright Knight throwing a giant, purple energy ball at a building before diving down and slashing his sword through a woman.

Namine's eyes widened in horror at the sight, but it quickly turned to shock as she watched the results. Instead of being split in two, as Namine had expected, the woman flashed green and disappeared without a trace. By the time that she managed to pull her eyes away from the place the civilian had been, the knight had already done the same thing to two more people and Namine noticed that the flames forming his cape had grown bigger.

"This is bad. I've got to call Rai and Roxas." Pressing a few buttons, Namine sent out the call to their communicators, bringing up the team's villain archives on one of the small screens while she waited for their response.

* * *

Roxas threw his towel down as he finished drying his hair and opened his bag.

"I have got to get more clothes." He muttered, only finding his battle attire left. Sighing he picked it up and dressed himself. Just as he zipped up his shirt, his communicator started beeping from the desk. It was followed almost immediately by Raimundo barging through the door, his own beeping communicator in hand.

"Look's like we got trouble." Rai stated, opening his handheld device, revealing a small keypad and a screen with Namine on it. "What's up my lady?"

"Guys, a dark knight is destroying New York." Namine responded, bring up a picture in picture revealing the scene. "I'm running his picture through our archives now… got him. He's called the Fright Knight."

"Never heard of him." Rai frowned, clenching his teeth as another person disappeared in a flash of green after meeting the knight's sword. "What's he doing with those people?"

"According to his file, the Fright Knight is one of the most powerful ghosts in existence." Namine started, sending the data to Rai's communicator. "He grows even more powerful the more fear there is in the world and when he slashes you with his sword, you're transported to a pocket dimension where you're forced to live your greatest fear."

"In addition to all that, he also has flight, intangibility and invisibility, like every other ghost." Roxas frowned, checking the data on his own communicator before his eyes widened in fear. "Why are you calling us Namine? What happened to the others?"

"They're all busy with an enemy Saiyan and his flunkies." Namine responded reassuringly. "They're fine, but they won't be able to stop this guy before he's destroyed half of New York and sent who knows how many people to pocket dimensions."

"Ok then, We'll be there as soon as we can. Rai out." Closing the Communicator, Rai turned to Roxas with a sad smile. "Guess it's back to work."

"We'll just have to pick relaxation time back up later." Roxas responded, throwing his jacket on. "Grab the artillery. We've got a ghost to bust."

* * *

"And there goes another one." The Fright Knight said smugly, as another person, this time a ten year old boy, disappeared in a flash of green. The whole while, the Fright Knight's flame cape continued to intensify and his blasts increased in size. "Ah, so much fear." He sighed blissfully as more and more power flowed through him and the screams of people running for their lives filled his ears. "I should have done this millennia ago."

"Wudai Star Wind!" The Fright Knight's eyes widened as a swirling portal appeared right in front of him a second before the voice heralded a fierce gale ploughing right into his gut and knocking him towards a far building, barely managing to go intangible before colliding with a brick wall.

"Who dares attack the Fright Knight?" The ghostly knight demanded furiously as he phased back through the wall.

"Only one of the greatest fighters around." Staring down at where the portal had been, the dark knight locked eyes with a teenage boy clad in red and white robes and golden claws on his right hand.

"Ah, Wudai Warrior, of the Valour Guardians." Fright Knight called calmly, flying down and landing a few feet away. "I was wondering when you'd have the courage to show yourself. Though I must admit, I expected more of you to come. At the very least, I thought Danny Phantom would be here."

"The others are tied up with another mission." Rai replied, dropping into an offensive stance. "But I assure you, we'll be more then a match for you."

"And who, pray tell, is we?" Fright Knight asked, raising an eyebrow under his helmet.

"Him and me." Fright Knight's eyes widened again and it was only by instinct that he managed to spin around and swing his sword in time to block two, white glowing Keyblades.

"The Key of Destiny. You're actually still willing to reveal yourself to the world? After all the pain that it puts you through on a daily basis?"

"There opinions of me don't matter." Roxas snapped, jumping back before coming in with another slash.

"You tell yourself that, but I know otherwise. I can sense your fear. I have to say, even I've never seen someone so afraid of rejection." Fright Knight retorted, parrying Roxas' strike before launching a kick into the blond's gut. Roxas gasped, completely winded as he flew back into a streetlight before sinking down it, collapsing on the ground.

"Rox!" Rai cried worriedly. Seeing that he was still conscious, Rai turned a glare at the ghost, whipping a brown item out of his pocket. "Silk Spinner!"

Fright Knight quickly thrust out his free hand and blasted the oncoming web, creating a thin layer of smoke, blocking Rain from view.

Rai moved quick and shot up and dived through the smokescreen, landing a powerful kick to the Knight's head. As Fright Knight stumbled, Raimundo spun around and lashed out with another kick, only for his opponent to phase through it and take to the air.

"Grr." Snarling, Rai shot up after him, pulling out a necklace from his pocket. "Eye of Dashi, Wind!"

Fright Knight watched as the combination of wind and lightning surged towards him, however, instead of being worried, like most would be, he just chuckled darkly and thrust his sword down to meet it, cutting right through the assault.

"No way!" Rai cried, his eyes and mouth open wide in disbelief. "That's one of the most dangerous attacks in elemental magic and he cut through like a knife through butter."

"I'm the spirit of Halloween! The day when magic is most powerful. Of course I have some sway over such power. Or more specifically, my sword does." Fright Knight called down smugly. Readjusting his grip on the sword, he dived down, intent on ploughing the magical weapon right through Raimundo's chest.

"Whoa!" Rai hastily dropped his altitude and ripped the Blade of the Nebula from his waist just in time to redirect the sword away from him. Unperturbed, Fright knight launched into a barrage of slashes, forcing Raimundo to stay on the defensive, constantly blocking the blade and forever descending, unable to compare with the raw strength behind the Fright Knight's assault.

"This is perfect?" Fright Knight gloated as his sword once again clashed with Rai's, forcing the wind wielder down to only ten feet off the ground. "Your fear is growing, as is the fear of everyone watching. Which means, I'm continuously growing even stronger while you're tiring. In but a few moments, you'll be defeated, instilling even greater fear in not only our spectators, but people world wide. For I will have defeated one of their greatest heroes. Goodbye, Wudai Warrior."

Just as his flame cape increased again, Fright Knight launched into a diagonal slash. Raimundo blocked it with a vertical slash of his own, but his weakened muscle could resist the ghostly knight's forever strengthening ones and with loud cry, was tossed back into a car, leaving a deep, human shaped dent.

"Interesting." Fright Knight commented, picking up Rai's lost blade. "I thought that it would shatter, I definitely hit it hard enough. A truly wonderful piece of magic."

"You think that's impressive?" A cold voice asked. Turning around, Fright Knight screamed as nine swords of light struck his chest, sending him fly back with as much force as Raimundo had and into a fire hydrant. "What do you think of my shot?" Roxas asked, raising Oathkeeper, it's blade charging to release another shot.

"Argh! The power of light. Such holy magic has always been a pain." Fright Knight scowled, using his flames to dry himself off as he rose back to his feet. "But this time, it won't be enough to stop me." In the blink of an eye, Fright Knight made a beeline for Roxas, sword ready to strike in one hand and a sphere of purple energy in the other.

"Light!" Working fast, Roxas released the power he'd channelled through Oathkeeper, shooting the light into the air before it split into nine pillars and dropped to just above the ground, blocking the Fight Knight and forming a circle around him. Frowning in concentration, Roxas thrust his skyward arm down so Oathkeeper was pointing directly at Fright Knight. The pillars responded by simultaneously shooting inward at the Ghost and exploded upon impact.

"Did that do it?" Roxas puffed, scanning the area as the dust cleared. "I know I'm not strong enough to destroy him, so where is he?"

As Raimundo slowly opened his eyes, it was to find Roxas standing in a wrecked street with no knight ghost in sight.

_Is it over?_ He thought, trying to get off the car, only for pain to explode throughout his entire body and force him to drop back down with a strangled cry of agony. Clenching his teeth, he raised his head back up to ask Roxas for help when his heart stopped at a horrific sight before him. "Rox, behind you!"

Eyes widening at Rai's strangled, but panicked cry, Roxas spun on his heel just as the Fright Knight rose out of the ground and became tangible, his sword aimed right at Roxas' exposed chest.

"I win, Key of Destiny." Fright Knight stated triumphantly and ran Roxas through.

"Aahh!" Roxas screamed, his face clenched in pain for a second before his whole body glowed green ad he too disappeared.

"Success! I have captured one of the nine Guardians." The Fright Knight exclaimed, laughing evilly. "And with so much fear brought into existence, my power has doubled. Now to find the other Guardi- AAHHH!"

Rai watched in fear and amazement as the Fright Knight's sword faintly glowed white before it intensified and consumed the suddenly worried ghost. A moment later, Raimundo was forced to shut his eyes as the light exploded outward, blinding everyone still hiding in the area. When the glare finally died down, the people, Rai included looked up and dropped their jaws at the sight before them.

The Fright Knight's armour had changed colour, from it's dull grey to a bright white. The pumpkin on the end of his sword's handle had also turned white and the entire weapon had a swirling, white and green glow. Finally, the flames on his back had increased in size tremendously and was shaped like wings that flapped lightly as his dark, malicious laughter echoed through the air.

"Amazing. The Guardian's powers are connected to his emotions. And who would have believed that he had so much power hidden inside of him? He didn't use anything near this much in our fight. Now I have enough power to take over this entire realm!"

"W-what? How d-did you get Rox' p-power?" Rai stuttered out, clenching his teeth as the pain in his chest intensified with each word.

"When someone feels fear, I absorb it, creating a slight mental connection, mortal." Fright Knight started, a little surprised that Raimundo was still alive, but not really caring. "When my sword sends them to a pocket dimension, the link increases and since your friend's power is connected to his emotions, his power travelled through the link and into me." Laughing maniacally, he raised his free hand towards Rai, white and purple energy gathering in his open palm. Seeing his end coming, Raimundo just glared as best he could at the ghostly knight, refusing to show fear, not that it really mattered considering who he was staring down.

"I could kill you right now." The Fright Knight stated darkly before dropping his hand, his energy dissipating. "But for now, I'm going to let you live. I'll take down the other seven first, that way I can see the look of hopelessness and despair in your eyes when I come back for you. Hahahaha!" With that, his flame wings encased him and he shot off like a white and purple shooting star.

"No. I've got to c-call Namine." Raimundo gasped, ignoring the pain and pulling his communicator out of his pocket. He didn't care how much it hurt him. His friends were in extreme danger and he was going to do whatever it took to save them. Especially Roxas.

Flipping the communicator open, he used one shaky finger to push a red button with an S on it before succumbing to his injuries and passed out. His communicator dropped from his hands and onto the ground. On the screen was a flashing SOS.


	5. Catastrophic Power

**Catastrophic Power**

At first, darkness was all Roxas could see, all that existed in the world. There was no end to it in any direction. The place was just an empty void, leaving Roxas to float in nothingness.

It didn't last long though, as the world began it's cruel intentions. The first thing Roxas noticed was his arms where ripped up and outward from his body, as if someone as strong as Gohan had grabbed them, before his legs were forced straight and immobile a second later. Clenching his teeth in an attempt to contain his panic, he tugged against the invisible restraints as hard as he could, but failed to move his limbs even an inch. His panic increased as his torso also became victim to the invisible restraints and he felt his back press against what felt like wood.

As soon as he was unable to move even slightly, the darkness began to lighten and the rumble of angry voices reached his ears, becoming clearer with every second. It wasn't long before the darkness cleared and Roxas found himself in an enormous city square packed with people. All of them were looking up at his suspended form with looks of hatred and disgust, holding guns and knives and screaming at him.

"You're a heartless, despicable monster that doesn't deserve to live."

"Time to die, you abomination."

"You should have crawled back into the sewer you crawled out of when you had the chance."

More and more hate filled cries pounded in Roxas' ears as he struggled as hard as he could to get away. However, it was completely impossible. He could now clearly see the chains digging into his wrists, ankles and stomach, binding him on a giant, wooden cross for the world to see. In the back of his mind, he was confused as to why he was bound to such a religious symbol, but it was quickly squashed by the fear and pain that the situation was forcing him to experience.

_This isn't real. This isn't real_. Roxas repeated rapidly in his head, squeezing his eyes tight and trying to block out the voices. _This isn't- _"ARGH!"

He was forced back to the situation as one person burst from the crowd and slashed at his leg with a knife, creating a deep gash and causing it to throb with intense pain.

"How does that feel freak? Oh wait, you're incapable of feeling anything." The man snarled venomously. Tears, both of pain and misery poured down Roxas' face like rivers as he stared out at the mob before him. His body began shaking while he watched fearfully as the more people joined the mob and more people moved towards him, their cruel intentions obvious from the looks on their faces.

Unable to move, let alone defend himself, Roxas did the only thing he could; he clenched his eyes shut and screamed.

* * *

"That should do it." Namine gave Rai's body a quick scan for remaining injuries as she pulled her glowing hands away. It wasn't hard to check him; his clothes had been almost completely shredded.

"Thanks Namine." Rai mumbled, tossing off what remained of his shirt. "Have you guys had any luck finding Roxas?"

The only response Rai got was a sad look from Namine and the constant tapping and beeping of fingers across the bridge's keyboards.

"What happened exactly?" Ben asked, handing Rai another shirt. "Both of you use magic. Even a ghost shouldn't be able to stand up to both of you."

"Well, we didn't exactly fight together." Raimundo responded hesitantly. "Roxas got wounded and by the time he was back on his feet, I was down. And besides, that ghost continuously got stronger. He even managed to cut through my lightning attack. And if that wasn't enough, he phased through the more crippling impacts."

"It's not that surprising Ben." Danny nodded, scowling at Ben. As a part ghost himself, he'd taken what Ben said as slightly insulting. "The Fright Knight is one of the toughest ghosts I ever faced. Hell, I only beat him by sticking his sword into a pumpkin, a strange drawback to being the spirit of Halloween."

"He's even stronger now." Raimundo stated grimly, drawing everyone's attention back to him. "Somehow, he's using the mental link he uses to grow stronger from people's fear to tap into Roxas' powers. As long as Roxas is in that pocket dimension, the Fright Knight's unstoppable."

"And forever growing stronger as his actions create more fear." Jake added panicky. "How can we possibly save Roxas?"

"The only way I know is by sealing the Fright Knight away again." Danny answered, frowning at the ground. "The problem is we don't have the power to do that if he's grown as powerful as Raimundo's suggested."

"Gwen, you have the most variety in magical abilities, could you create a portal to extract Roxas from wherever he is?" Kim asked, turning everyone's hopeful eyes to the young sorceress reading by the scanners.

"I've been searching for a way, but without knowing exactly where he is, it's hopeless." Gwen sighed sadly, closing her spell book.

"And he won't be able to use his own portals because all his power's being directed to Fright Knight." Gohan frowned, never taking his eyes off the screen as he searched the planet. "Which means that we're just going to have to find him and kick his… there he is." Gohan cried as the alarm went off. "Looks like he decided Disneyland was good target."

"That place would be packed! And with all those kids there, there's no telling how strong he'll become." Gwen stated frantically, jumping to her feet.

"We gotta move now!" Jake jumped to his feet.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Rai asked, glaring at the screen. Concentrating, his body glowed sky blue for a moment before his clothes were replaced by ninja-like armour with a picture of wind on his chest. "Let's go and kick his transparent butt."

"Not without these though." Danny called, phasing through a wall, his arms laden with his parents' inventions. "Everyone, put on a spectre deflector. They'll prevent the Fright Knight from overshadowing you and make it painful for him to even touch you. Jake, you take ghost gauntlets too. Kim, you've got the Fenton bazooka. Namine -"

"I'll stay here." Namine interrupted, shocking the group. "I'm no fighter. I'll save my strength for undoing any damage done to Roxas when you get him back."

"If that's what you think is best." Gohan nodded, clipping the deflector around his waist. "Just open a portal for us. We need to get there fast."

Nodding, Namine raised her hand, furrowing her brow in concentration, and created a circular, white portal. Not saying anything else, the seven heroes leapt through.

* * *

Screams once again filled the air as panicky parents ran with their terrified children in their arms, desperately trying to escape as attraction after attraction was completely destroyed by the white, ghostly knight.

"Aahh! This is even better then before. Thousands of people, most of them children, all so easy to scare. As if the Key of Destiny's power wasn't enough! In only a few minutes, I'll have the power to take out Danny Phantom and every one of his remaining friends in one shot." Chuckling to himself, he unsheathed his sword and dived at the crowd, moving too fast for them to see. Levelling himself as he reached the crowd's level, he shot through them like a blur, his sword pointed out to the side, leaving a long line of green flashes in his wake as large numbers of people disappeared.

"This is tremendous. How could this possibly get any better?" Fright Knight cried happily, his power level skyrocketing by the second. It was then that the sudden glare of a white, circular energy caught his attention. "Ah, that's how."

Raimundo glared heatedly up at the white knight as he floated into the air with Gohan, Danny and Jake, the others falling into offensive stances on the ground. His knuckles were turning white under his gloves as he tightened his grip on the Sword of The Storm.

"Wudai Warrior. After our last fight, I didn't think that you'd have the guts to show yourself again." Fright Knight sneered, getting a growl from the armoured monk. "And I see you brought the others. Saiyaman, the alien hybrid, Danny Phantom, the American Dragon, Kim Possible, Ben Ten and Lucky Girl. Where is the Nobody, Namine?"

"None of your business." Rai snapped venomously. "We want Roxas back right now. And my blade." He added as his eyes noticing his missing blade's hilt sticking out by the knight's shoulder.

"Your demands fall on death ears." Fright Knight retorted, raising his charging hands. "Prepare to die."

As soon as he finished speaking, he released a huge beam of white and purple energy right at the flyers.

"Everyone, scatter!" Gohan shouted, moving quickly towards it while the others flew off to the sides. His aura flaring, he let out a scream. "Energy shield!" Thrusting his hands to either side, Gohan unleashed his energy and created a large sphere.

He screamed again as the blast hit his shield, furiously pouring more energy into it and barely holding it at bay.

Seeing that he couldn't hold it much longer, Rai, Danny and Jake shot in, the others not far behind.

"Hey, metal head! Do you know the melting point of that armour?" Jake called before taking a deep breath and releasing the strongest flamethrower he could muster.

Not even bothering to look up, the Fright Knight moved his fiery wings around his sides, blocking the flames.

"Hey, that's no fair." Jake complained. All he got in response was flames shooting from the wing. Screaming, he performed a loop and dove to the right, the flames just missing his left wing.

"If fire won't work," Rai shouted, shooting in from the other side, a blue sphere in hand. "how about this? Orb of Tornami!" A surge of water shot from the orb, right at the ghostly knight.

Unperturbed, Fright Knight just moved his wings by his sides again and let them be hit. The end result was that the water simple evaporated before purple flame spears shot out at Rai, forcing him to pull back.

"Is that the best you've got?" Fright Knight asked cockily, chuckling darkly as another struggling grunt left Gohan. "You'll have to do far better then-"

"Shut up, you big blowhard."

"Octem, Montitus!"

The Fright Knight was caught completely off guard and was hit hard in the chest by a blue and a green blast, courtesy of Gwen and Kim's bazooka, and was forced back. With his concentration broken, his blast lost it's intensity. Something that Gohan took full advantage of.

Thrusting his hands forward, and with a primal scream, he altered his shield into a giant blast.

"AARRGGHH!" Just as the Fright Knight managed to steady himself, the blast collided and consumed him, sending him propelling to the ground encased in golden energy and causing a loud BANG and dust cloud on collision.

He didn't stay down long though. Within seconds, a flash of purple and white energy exploded upward, straight at Gohan. Before the young Saiyaman knew what was happening, a glowing fist had ploughed into his stomach, shooting him into the distance as if he been shot out of a cannon, the thunderous clap of the blow blocking out his scream.

"Saiyaman!" Danny cried, watching wide eyed as the stronger hybrid disappeared into the distance. "Oh, you're gonna get it." He growled, turning a glare to the Fright Knight before duplicating himself into four.

Four ecto-blasts simultaneously shot at the Fright Knight, only for him to raise his sword and block them all with one slash. Unperturbed, the Dannys used the time the blasts gave them to get right in his face and, taking deep breaths, released their ghostly wails at him, point blank in the chest.

"Argh!" The ecto charged soundwaves in stereo proved to much for even him to handle and knocked him painfully back towards the ground. Nearing the earth, the wail lost their intensity and the Fright Knight tried to right himself, only for Jake to swoop in, landing a solid blow in the ghost's get with the ghost gauntlets, causing him to fly back and right into a rolling Cannonbolt's assault. Crying out in a mix of surprise and pain, Fright Knight once again found himself flying off in another direction, this time crashing into a souvenir stand.

"You don't seem to be as tough as you claim to be." The American Dragon smirked as he landed on the ground, his fists ready to strike again.

"Release the people your sword's imprisoned and return to the ghost zone. Or suffer the consequences." Kim commanded, levelling her bazooka right at the Fright Knight's rising head.

"Do you actually think that you can stop me?" Fright Knight chuckled darkly as he rose back to his feet, not a scratch on his body, and raised his glowing hands up at his sides. "Fools. Even now, my power grows stronger. And the six of you are no match for me." In the time span of two seconds after he finished his speech, the Fright Knight created a dome of raw power around himself and had it explode outward, blasting all of the Guardians away.

"Augh!" Ben groaned, pulling his body back out of a ball. Pulling himself slowly to his feet, he found Kim beside him, unconscious, as was Jake on the far side of the newly made clearing. Moaning, Gwen stumble to her feet, much to Ben's relief, only for the Fright knight to charge at her, his sword at the ready.

"You're strong Lucky Girl, to still be standing after that. Having your powers in addition to what I've already collected will make me strong beyond anyone's imagination."

"You think I'll let you get my powers?" Gwen snapped, levitating herself up and out of the way before thrusting her own glowing hands forward. "Prodigium Patefacio!"

Just as Fright Knight thrust his sword up at her, a portal opened between them and as the result, the knight's action allowed it to take his sword and was forced to let go or be sucked in with it.

"MY SWORD!" Fright Knight roared as it vanished within the disappearing portal. "RETURN IT TO ME AT ONCE!"

"Don't think so." At that moment, Danny swooped down from the sky and fired an ice blast, freezing Fright Knight's entire body while Gwen put some distance between him and herself.

"AAAHHH!" The Fright Knight roared, using his energy to blast his way out of the ice, staring up at Danny with pure rage. However, before he could do anything else, Rai followed Danny down, landing a powerful kick to back of the ghost knight's head, grabbing his blade as he pushed back off and forced Fright Knight face first into the ground.

"That's what you get for taking what isn't yours." Rai taunted, raising his retrieved blade in one hand and his secondary, golden one in the other as the growling knight got back to his feet. "Now here's something I've never done before; Blade of The Nebula, Sword of The Storm, Wind!"

The resulting tornado of the combined powers of Rai and his weapons slammed right into the Fright Knight's back and shot him skyward faster then anyone could see, blowing the shrapnel littering the ground after him. Completely unable to get off the wind drilling into his back, he gathered his energy and had it explode outward with a cry, finally stopping himself two miles high in the air.

"Persistent, little roaches." He scowled, glaring darkly down at the dots representing his foes. "I've had more then enough of them. Time for them to die."

"Sorry, but no one's dying today." A ticked off voice responded just as the Fright Knight raised his hands above his head. Turning around, he found a battered and bruised, but determined Saiyan charging blue energy by his side. "KA MA HA MA HA!"

Gohan let loose his strongest attack, having it collide with the energy his opponent had charged into his hands and using the extra force of the explosion to send Fright Knight plummeting back to Earth with the speed of a rocket. Fortunately for Fright Knight, he remembered to turn intangible before impact.

"Great, now where is he?" Rai growled, looking rapidly from left to right

"I don't know, I can't sense ghosts." Gohan stated, dropping next to him, focusing on his hearing.

"Big Chill!" Ben exclaimed, transforming into his ghostly form. "Phantom and I should phase through the ground and search. We won't be able to touch him, but we can find him."

"Right, let's go." Danny nodded, turning a faint blue and diving into the ground, followed closely by Ben.

"Let's see if I can- Argh!" Gwen hit the ground hard as a white and purple blast smashed into her back, leaving her a whimpering mass before Gohan and Rai's shocked and angry eyes.

"Four down, five to go." Fright Knight state low and menacingly, all traces of his smugness gone. Not saying another word, he launched forward, his glowing fists aimed straight at the floating Guardians.


	6. Change of Destiny

**Change Of Destiny**

The deep gasps echoed throughout the entire area as Roxas hyperventilated. The tears that once ran down his face were no longer noticeable, replaced by blood oozing from the cuts on his forehead and cheeks. His clothes were long gone, slashed to shreds, leaving him wearing nothing but the blood pouring from dozens of wounds, some shallow, some deep, all over his body. He was terrified, humiliated, miserable and in agonising pain and yet the mob continued to grow and attack him, slashing knives across the little, undamaged skin on his feet and chest and shooting bullets at his hands and legs. And the screams. The statements of hatred disgust, the belittling sneers ad the promises of more pain. It never stopped, only became harder and harder to ignore as more people arrived, shouting the same things over and over again.

_I can't take any more of this._ Roxas thought, holding back another wave of sobs. _Where are my friends when I need them? Please guys, help me! I need you, I need you know. Please, you promised you'd always be there for me. Please!_

It was at that moment that the bright glare of the sun, which had been stinging his eyes the whole time, darkened. Knowing that there wasn't a cloud in the sky, Roxas opened his eyes, staring hopefully above him. For a moment, his heart burst with relief at the sight of Raimundo floating just above his head, the others not far behind. However, it clenched in fear once again as he noticed the dark sneer on his face a split second before the wind wielder's fist smashed into his face.

* * *

Gohan quickly dodged Fright Knight's assault, however, Raimundo wasn't so lucky. The Wudai Warrior gave a strangled gasp as the glowing fist pounded into his gut and released the pent up energy, blasting Rai back into and through a small building before it collapsed on him. When the resulting dust cleared, Rai was found to be half buried in debris and barely conscious, his Shen Gong Wu scattered around him.

"Now for you, shape shifter." Throwing the hand intended for Gohan out at where Ben was rising from the ground, the Fright Knight released a large energy sphere right at the Omnitrix. Unable to move away in time, Ben was very grateful when Danny popped out of the ground in front of him and raised a shield.

"Grr, that's stronger then a shot that size has right to be." Danny grunted as the energy sphere hit and exploded, struggling to hold up his shield.

"Let's see if I can turn that power against him." Ben responded, being enclosed in a flash of green light as he hit the Omnitrix. "Chromastone!"

As soon as Gohan shot a barrage of his own energy blasts at Fright Knight, distracting the ghost from his previous targets, Ben leapt over Danny's shield, firing his own beam of light energy at Fright Knight, hitting him squarely in the back.

"Grr, be gone pest!" Fright Knight demanded, whipping around and firing an overly large white and purple beam at point blank range.

"Aahh…AH!" Ben cried painfully, crossing his arms over his head. His crystalline body was absorbing the power stolen from Roxas just as he'd planned, but the ecto-plasmic energy was tearing him apart. Desperate for the pain to go away, he released all of the building energy right back at Fright Knight, managing to put his ghostly foe into a stalemate. Not happy with the result, Ben released another blast of rainbow energy from his forehead, hitting Fright Knight's right in the middle.

"Argh!" Dazed by the sneaky shot, the Fright Knight lost his concentration on his blast and found Ben's hitting him full force. Crying out again, he was thrown back right into Gohan's waiting kick. The Fright Knight crashed hard into the ground with a grunt as Ben fell to his hands and knees with a tired sigh, his body drained and chipping.

"ARR! Damn that boy! That actually took a bit out of me." Fright Knight swore, glaring venomously at Ben as he got to his feet, clenching his fists.

"Well let's see if I can do the same." Danny shouted, flying right at him and forcing him to dodge into the air as multiple, small ecto-blasts shot towards him.

"You weren't a true match for me the last time we fought, how could you possibly beat me now?" Fright Knight retorted, shooting towards Danny in a purple streak.

However, halfway to the ghost boy, a white streak intercepted him, a thunderous clap resonating throughout the entire park as the Fright Knight's fists were blocked by Gohan's wrists.

"By working with me. That's how." Gohan stated coolly, staring down the Fright Knight with cold, determined eyes. Before the knight could do anything, Gohan launched a kick right into his gut.

"Augh!" Fright Knight gasped, his arms wrapping around his stomach as he fell ten feet back. However, he was quick to recover and shot forward again, lashing a kick of his own at Gohan's head.

Gohan ducked without a moment to spare, feeling the metal brush the top of his hair, as Danny lurched forward, throwing a punch at the Fright Knight's head. Fright Knight leaned back, dodging the fist before thrusting his wings forward in an attempt to scorch the phantom, only for them to be blocked by an energy shield, courtesy of Gohan. Having his shield explode, knocking both the Fright Knight's arms and wings back, Gohan and Danny both threw a punch at their opponent's exposed chest, sending him sailing towards the Ferris wheel, only for him to phase through it and back towards them.

"You two have been a nuisance to me long enough!" Fright Knight growled. The flames on his back moved around his sides and wrapped themselves around his arms, creating much larger, fiery versions of his limbs as he flew. Stopping his charge ten feet away from his targets, the Fright Knight launched both flames fists forward.

Not expecting the long ranged attack, both teens' eyes went wide a second before they were struck and pummelled into the ground with screams of pain, covered in burns.

"Man, that smarts." Gohan groaned, grounding his teeth as he forced himself into a sitting position.

"And it's about to get worse!" Danny cried, phasing through the ground in panic as the Fright Knight's flames, returning to the form of wings, folded around the ghostly knight and swung outward, sending a large number of flame lances right where Gohan and Danny fell.

* * *

Any lingering hope of being saved vanished from Roxas as he stared up at Raimundo, an angry, red mark appearing on his face where he was hit. The others quickly made it to Rai's side at the front of the mob, all of them looking at him with hate and satisfaction.

"I can't believe we let you live so long." Gohan snarled, gathering energy in his palm. "A heartless piece of filth like you has no place among us."

"We should of destroyed you when we got rid of the rest of the Organisation." Gwen agreed. "All the trouble would have ended then."

"You've never done anything but give our team a bad name." Jake spat, burning Roxas' chest as he snorted, releasing fire from his nose.

"Guys please, I've never done anything to hurt you or anyone else." Roxas cried desperately, his eyes flickering from one disgusted face to another. "And you guys know I'm not heartless. You know me."

"Oh, please, like we couldn't see right through you." Namine rolled her eyes. "You've never once shown a single, true emotion, only hollow ones, like the other Nobodies. You just wanted to use the Guardians to get rid of the Organisation so you could rule. Admit it, you only helped me because you knew that you could use me to get to them."

"What? I was talking to you long before I even knew they existed!" Roxas cried, his wild, panicky eyes fixated on Namine.

"Even if that was true, it was better to have her help then none, wasn't it? She was just a tool to you, like we were." Kim glared.

"It's time to do what we've all wanted to do since the day we met you." Ben stated, raising the Omnitrix.

"Goodbye, you filthy Nobody." Rai snarled, raising the Eye of Dashi while the others prepared their own attacks.

_This can't be real. They don't really think… they never thought I was like that. But here they are, ready to kill me._ Tears fell down Roxas' face, as mentally damaged as he was physically. Having his friends by his side was the only thing that ever kept his fear of never being accepted at bay and his hope alive. Now even they were disgusted by his very existence and hell-bent on destroying him. _Maybe I truly am just a heartless monster._ He thought miserably.

"_But you've already proven that you can feel what they do." _His widened as Namine's smiling face appeared in his mind and her words echoed through his head. _"You've already shown me desire, curiosity, confusion and desperation. From the way you talk of complete people, I can also tell that your jealous of them. You are full of emotions." _

"_Eu não odeio você. você é um dos melhores amigos que eu já tive. How many people get people calling them one of their best friends in multiple languages?" _Rai's grinning face appeared next, reminding Roxas of the conversation they'd had the night before. A few seconds later, it was replaced by another memory.

"_We want you to be happy." Gohan said warmly, placing a hand on Roxas' chin and gently raising it so their eyes met. "We have no intention of letting you out of our lives if that's what you think we're doing. Sorry Rox, but you're stuck with us." He finished with a smile._

"_Just go and enjoy yourself. Learn what it's like to be human." Kim said, stepping up beside Gohan. "And make sure you find some things you like because when you come back, we are going to decorate that empty room of yours."_

One by one, the warm voices and faces of his friends filled his mind. Ben helping him to his feet and patting him on the back with a smile when they defeated a Hybreed who refused to end the war on Earth peacefully. Jake shoving an earphone in his ear, claiming that Roxas needed more culture in his life. Gwen showing him her spell books and asking his opinion on a few spells. Danny Protecting him from one of Skulker's missiles. Everyday, his friends were by his side, helping him, laughing with him and comforting him whenever he needed it.

_They would never hurt me._ He thought, light returning to his eyes as the tears stopped. "My friends have always been by my side and always will be." He said firmly, looking up at the people in front of him. "I may have been afraid of this happening, but it was a pointless fear. My friends know who I am and wouldn't take me any other way. They accept and care about me. And sooner or later, the world will too. This will never happen. The Valour Guardians won't let it." He screamed again, but this time but this time it held no fear, only confidence and anger. "This isn't real, and I WANT OUT!"

At that, the chains constraining him burst into dust. The pain he felt disappeared, the wounds and blood being replaced by smooth, unharmed skin and undamaged clothes. A small smile crossed his face as images of his friends' warm, friendly faces floated around his mind and the world before him disappeared in a bright light.

* * *

Danny phased back up through the ground as the shaking stopped and wrapped his arms around Gohan, supporting him as he tried to stand.

"Are you alright?" Danny asked worriedly. Gasping raggedly, Gohan spared just enough energy to give him a what-do-you-think look. "Sorry, standard question."

"I'm surprised that you two are still breathing, much less standing." Fright Knight growled down at them, more then a little frustrated as he placed his hands together in front of him and charging another blast. "But I must insist that you d-AAAHHH!"

All of the Guardians, all of which had at least regained consciousness, dropped their jaws as the Fright Knight screamed. The power in his palms completely disappeared as wrapped around himself, as if he was in intense pain before his entire body glowed with such a bright light that his form was completely consumed by it.

The Valour Guardians watched in amazement as half of the light turned purple a split second before it blew apart into two streaks, one an eerie purple, shooting into the sky, the other, a white streak, plummeted to the Earth.

When the purple streak came to a halt, it exploded, revealing a gasping Fright Knight. However, the flames on his back once again took on no greater form then a cape and his returned to it's dull, grey and black colouring. To top it all off, he was finally looking worn out.

"What is this?" He cried as he stared down at his hands, fearful himself for the first time since he could remember. "What happened to all my power?"

It was then another flash of light on the ground caught his attention and is his shocked disbelief, he was unable to dodge the nine pillars of light aim right at his head.

* * *

The Guardians, despite their injuries, all threw their arms over their heads and scrunched their eyes shut as the white streak crashed into the ground in front of them. As the light died down, they looked up at the point of impact and stared with looks of happiness and disbelief. There, standing unharmed and glaring up at the now revealed, dark knight ghost, was a boy with blond hair and a dominantly white, key shape sword in his hand.

"Roxas!" Rai gasped, his relief evident in his voice. "Thank God you're ok."

Through the corner of his eye, Roxas checked on the others to make sure that they were ok before raising Oathkeeper in both hands, focusing his power through the magical blade as he aimed right for the glowing bucket on the pain in the butt's head.

"Light!"


	7. Transcendent Light

**Transcendent Light**

As Fright Knight steadied himself in the air, he turned a scowl towards the ground to find Roxas kicking off every wall, pole and remaining piece of debris in the area, pushing himself higher and higher into the air. Reaching the Fright Knight's height, he spun his whole body around and slashed his glowing Keyblade right into the Fright Knight's hip, knocking him to the ground with a scream.

"How dare you even touch me, you abomination." Fright Knight roared, his flames flaring angrily around him, matching the ones in his eyes as he jumped back onto his feet.

"Call me what you want." Roxas said coolly as his feet returned to the ground and he dropped into an offensive stance, both hands firmly clasped on the Keyblade. "It doesn't matter to me anymore." Without another word, Roxas charged right at the ghostly knight, leapt into the air and thrust the blade down at the Fright Knight's head.

His head still stinging from the last blow, the Fright Knight threw his hands up, catching the sides of the Keyblade within them, and threw his weight into pushing it back.

"Do you really think that you can win?" Fright Knight grunted, slowly forcing Roxas back. "You might have found a way out of the pocket dimension and disconnected me from your power, but I'm still the most powerful being here and your power's drained from my use of it."

Roxas didn't say anything to that, but clenched his teeth, know he was right. He'd felt his energy being drained while he was in that God-forsaken place and now he didn't have enough left to even sustain both of his Keyblades. And to make matters worse, the Fright Knight was still gaining strength from who knew how many other people he'd terrorised and captured. However, he refused to give in. He had to stop him. And he would.

Noticing the ruined wall coming up behind him, Roxas jumped back, into a flip, knocking an unprepared Fright Knight off balance, and pushed off the wall with both feet, right over the dark knight. Twisting his body around in the air, he slashed at the Fright Knight's back knocking his already unbalanced body painfully into the wall. He quickly followed it as his feet met the ground again, thrusting the glowing tip of his blade into the ghost's back.

"You've terrorised the people of this world long enough." Roxas growled, focusing more power into the ever growing light at Oathkeeper's tip. "It's time to let them GO!"

A stream of light left the blade and left the dark ghost screaming as his body was once again encased within it. However, this time, small streaks shot off of him in all directions, like fireworks. Wherever the shots hit the ground, people of all ages appeared, their faces filled with varying mixes of fear and relief as they stared around the area they'd found themselves in. Staring confusedly around the area, wondering how they'd been freed from their own versions of hell, they all followed the lights still pouring throughout the area to Roxas and the Fright Knight.

"Wow, it's so pretty." A little girl said softly, wiping tears from her face.

"Look, people are coming out of the lights. The Key of Destiny saved us." A man in his early thirties called as more and more people appeared around him.

"Oh thank God." A woman on her knees exclaimed, practically kissing the ground at her feet. "That was horrible."

"Everyone, get out of here." Danny yelled as the light show died down, floating in the air where everyone could see him. "It's far too dangerous here. Get as far away as you can."

When the light finally cleared, it revealed the Fright Knight, on his hands and knees and groaning. Looking up, he watched in shock and dread as the people the blond freed, the people he'd been drawing enormous amounts of strength from, took off for safety, beyond his reach.

_No! They were my main source of power. No one else is close enough for me to draw much power from their fear._ He thought, a little panicked. However, a thought in the back of his head quickly calmed him. Even without drawing power from the fear of others, he was still one of the most powerful ghosts in existence. His power still exceeded even Danny Phantom's by a fair bit and all of the Guardians, even Gohan, weren't too far ever way from the ghost hybrid's level at the best of times._ And even the ones still standing are reaching their limits._ He added confidently, rising back to his feet and staring down the panting Keybearer before him.

"Your actions are futile." He stated calmly, raising his fist. "You no longer have the strength to stand up to me, even at my base level. When I'm done with you, I'll merely find where the sorceress sent my sword and recollect my victims."

"No, I won't let that happen." Roxas growled defiantly, charging his Keyblade again.

"But you can't stop it." Fright Knight sneered as he caught sight of a little girl staring at Roxas' weapon in awe from the corner of his eye. "And I'll start with her."

Going intangible, he shot right through Roxas with a maniacal laugh and headed straight for the girl. Seeing him coming, she fell to the ground and screamed, her watery eyes exhibiting an enormous amount of fear.

However, just before he could reach her, she was surrounded by pillars of light, forcing the Fright Knight to pull an emergency stop with a frustrated growl. Even intangible, magic would be just as affective on him. Whipping angrily around, he shot a purple ball of energy at Roxas.

Smirking, Roxas swung the Keyblade from left to right just as the blast reached him and knocked it right back at the ghost, simultaneously moving his light pillars so as to ensure the girl's safety. Not ready for the rebound, the Fright Knight's eyes widened in shock before his own attack collided with his gut a moment later.

Stumbling back from the impact, the Fight Knight's back made contact with the light and was blasted forward onto his hands and knees again.

Grunting, the Fright Knight pulled himself painfully to his feet again. His scowl however, quickly turned into a sneer as he looked at his opponent. The pillars behind him faded, revealing a frantic mother running away with her terrified daughter, as Roxas puffed heavily, his arms sagging and Oathkeeper fading away.

"Your strength is gone, Key of Destiny." Fright Knight taunted, swaggering as he approached the exhausted youth. "You can no longer oppose me. That will make this easy." He finished, stopping right in front of the blond, his hands glowing purple as he raised them, aiming for Roxas' heart.

"Wudai Star Wind!" A sudden tornado surged around Roxas and lifted him into the air, dodging the ecto-blast, and knocked Fright Knight back.

Catching himself in the air, the Fright Knight turned a seething glare at where Raimundo lay, a weak, but cocky smirk on his face and his shaky arm held out where the warring titans had been only a moment before.

Preparing a blast for Raimundo, the Fright Knight was caught completely off guard by two blasts of green ectoplasmic energy in his side, courtesy of Danny and the Fenton bazooka held by a crouching Kim Possible.

"You didn't think we'd just lie there and let you kill Roxas, did you?" Kim asked with her usual confidence, despite the pain coursing through her.

The Fright Knight was about to reply when a red blur shot over his head. A second later, he was pushed back by flames.

Determined not to fall again, he pushed off the ground and into the air, looking up to find his latest antagonised.

The American Dragon shot up, Roxas spun his body around to land comfortably on his team mate's back.

"Are you ok man?" Jake asked worriedly, watching the blond carefully through the corners of his eyes to make sure that he wouldn't fall off.

"Just give me a few minutes." Roxas muttered backed, tightening his grip around Jake's neck slightly as they headed back towards the ground.

Enraged that yet another Guardian was making nuisance of themselves again, Fright Knight took off in a blur, making a bee line for Jake and Roxas.

"Where do you think you're going?" Gohan yelled, appearing right in front of him before ploughing a gold glowing fist into his head, knocking him back towards the Earth and shooting after him.

The Fright Knight however, refused to give in and stopped his momentum while simultaneously turning intangible as Gohan reached him and entered the boy.

"Hahaha!" Fright Knight's cruel laughter left Gohan's mouth as the Saiyin's eyes glowed an eerie green. "Now this is power. Try stopping me now, Guardians."

"Ok, I will." Danny shouted. Turning, the Fright Knight had just enough time to see a black and white blur to a clear, pale blue before it shot right into Gohan's body at a hundred and ten miles an hour and out the other side, the Fright Knight's gut caught on Danny's shoulder before the two turned tangible again an separated via a kick from Danny.

"You persistent, irritating, knave!" Fright Knight screamed, shooting back at the phantom with the clear intent of ripping him apart.

"Retineo Phasmatis!" As the words echoed through the air, the Fright Knight's ascension was put to an immediate halt and he screamed in blind fury as a blue, magical sphere appeared around him, releasing tendrils within itself that wrapped around his limbs, completely immobilising him. Struggling viciously against his bonds, he looked down maliciously at where Gwen was leaning back on one elbow, her other, glowing blue hand raised up at the ghost.

"I've had enough of the airborne stuff for one day." Gwen stated, grimacing from the pain in her back as she lowered her hand, bringing her sphere and it's victim to the ground.

Never ceasing his struggling, the Fright Knight watched helplessly as Ben stepped before him.

"It's time to end your rein of terror, Fright Knight." He stated, gathering light energy from the sun into his hands as Jake swooped down beside him, letting Roxas off of his back.

"And this time, you're going to stay down." Roxas added, stepping forward, beside Ben, and placing his glowing hands by Ben's. The Keybearer's white light energy mixed into Chromastone's rainbow energy, causing the concentration to expand, the colours swirling around the surface light the current of a whirlpool. Seeing the raw, near-holy power before him, the Fright Knight finally stopped struggling, only to look on in pure terror.

"Transcendent Light!" Ben and Roxas shouted simultaneously and released their attack. The entire theme park was alight with all of the colours of the rainbow as the swirling beam surged at the Fright Knight, passing through the magic sphere as if it wasn't even there, and slammed right into the ghostly knight, eliciting a loud, agonised scream.

When the light show finally died down, the Guardians looked on to find the Fright Knight struggling in vein to get up. His armour was severely battered, the flames on his back were gone and ectoplasm was oozing out of wounds all over his body. Just managing to get himself up shakily onto his elbows, he looked up at the Guardians, Roxas in particular, the an agonised, but venomous glare.

"Y-you will p-p-pay!"

"Maybe." Danny stated nonchalantly as blue energy encased the Fright Knight and sucked him into the thermos in Danny's hands. "But not today." He added with grin, shaking the container.

* * *

"I'm going to have to start charging for my services." Namine joked tiredly as she finished healing Danny, the last to be healed. "It's a good thing I don't pay for the amount of food I'm going to need to get my strength back.

"You might just end up rivalling Gohan here." Jake said teasingly, nudging the Saiyan hybrid's side. Gohan blushed embarrassedly at that as the others chuckled.

"I'm actually surprised Roxas." Kim said, catching the large grin on his face beside her. "You were sent to a place that was literally your worst nightmare. You should be a basket case. How are you so happy?"

"And how did you get out?" Danny added confusedly, raising an eyebrow. "No one's ever gotten themselves out before, according to both legend and experience."

"I think the one response answers both questions." Roxas responded, sitting down comfortably in a chair. "I was forced to live my worse fear. I was hung up before everyone, the people shouting the most painful insults and accusations at me. They attacked me, by the end I was covered in noting but bruises and blood. Then you guys appeared." He sighed at that point and wiped away a stray tear from his eyes. The others held their breaths, not sure they wanted to know what happened and glad that Roxas wasn't giving them too much detail. "You said things. You don't need me to tell you what, I'm sure you could figure it out. Rai hit me. And then you were all about to strike me, your hands, or mouth in Jake's case, flaring with your abilities." At that point, just as the looks of worry and panic reached their peak on the others' faces, Roxas looked up at them with a bright smile. "But then, just as I was about to give in to it all, memories played in my head. I always knew how you guys felt about me and at that last moment, the logical part of my mind kicked in. I was finally able to remove the illogical fear that I'd lose you guys and after that, the rest of the world's opinion didn't matter anymore. I think Rai's words from yesterday helped that click." Roxas stated, giving Rai a warm smile. "At that moment, I just knew that you guys care about me, are completely capable of seeing who I am. I'm not the person the world thinks I am and whether they want to see it or not, someday they'll figure it out too."

"Your fear went away and as a result, the dimension had no way of holding you." Gwen summed up. "And despite what you went through, with your fear gone, any mental damage that world could have done to you was negated."

"I actually feel better. Like a burden's been taken off my shoulders." Roxas grinned. "I guess I should be thanking the Fright Knight. He made my life better."

"In more ways then one." Ben called, noticing the news on the monitor. "Turn that up."

Raising an eyebrow, Gwen turned to the monitor behind her and found it playing the news. A reporter was standing in the middle of the crumbling area of the theme park. Seeing the happy look on the reporter's face, she wasted no time in doing what Ben said.

"The battle that raged here only an hour ago, against the powerful ghost known as the Fright Knight, has ended with yet another victory for the world's greatest heroes, the Valour Guardians." She stated before the camera moved to observe the area. "As you can see, the battle has done extensive damage to one of America's most famous attractions. However, even the owner has agreed that the countless lives saved was worth the damage.

"The people attacked and captured by the Fright Knight reported being sent to places that made their worst fears a reality, not a surprise as it is what Danny Phantom has told us before, after his last encounter with the spectre. However, what has thrown everyone to who's heard it off guard is that everyone saved has been giving all of their thanks to the Key of Destiny."

"I was about to faint in fear in the Godforsaken place, when suddenly, I was encased in a bright light." An elderly man stated, looking awestruck as he told his story.

"When the light cleared, I looked over to where other lights were coming from and there was the Key of Destiny, with his key thing, releasing more and more people from the Fright Knight." A teenage girl said next, as the screen changed from the old man.

"He saved my little girl." Roxas and the others couldn't help by smile softly as the screen changed to the happy, little girl who stuck around to watch the fight and the mother who'd pulled her away. The mother had tears pouring from her eyes from relief and was staring gratefully at the camera as her daughter waved excitedly. "He was clearly exhausted and still gave up energy and risked himself to save her. I could never thank him enough."

"Thank you Mister key guy." The little girl added happily, pulling on Roxas' heartstrings.

"It appears that the world has misjudged the young, blond hero." The reporter stated as she reappeared on screen. "The Key of Destiny has won the hearts and gratitude of hundreds of people today and proven to be all that the other Guardians claimed him to be. It's still too soon to tell, but from his actions today, and the reactions of those he saved, I believe that it can be assumed that the unjust prejudice will have a dramatic decline. Thank you to all of the Valour Guardians for your actions today. And Key of Destiny, I you can be sure that I am not alone in giving you my gratitude and apology. Though it's unknown as to how it's possible, you truly have a heart of gold."

"Wow. Positive publicity. For me." Roxas said softly, his eyes watering as his face lit up. "People are actually accepting me."

"I told you it would happen eventually." Raimundo stated happily, wrapping an arm around Roxas' shoulders. "It's not like there was any doubt. You're you! The people were just slow on the uptake."

"And after that, it won't just be the people you saved that'll act differently." Kim added with a smile of her own. "There will still be some idiots, but that report, and what the people you saved will continue to say about you, you're going to have half the world on your side in no time."

"Thank God for the internet." Jake grinned, pulling up a few positive blogs that were already showing up about Roxas. "The news will be global in no time. People love to talk too much."

"Feels good, doesn't it Roxas?" Namine said softly, giving him her warm grin.

Roxas could only nod, not trusting his voice. That day had completely changed his life. The weight of his fears had been taken off his shoulders and the world was finally accepting him. Add that to the increased trust he had for his friends, he finally felt like he belonged in the world. He'd finally found his place in this new world he resided in. It was a happy feeling far beyond what words could describe.

"This is just beyond great." Roxas laughed. Naturally it caught the others' attention, seeing as it was something few of them had ever heard and never more then once, or twice in Namine's case. "Now I can have a normal life. Well, as much as one any of us can possibly have. Speaking of which…"

His joyful smile never leaving his face, he grabbed the Golden Tiger Claws from the bench Rai left them on before thrusting them into the monk's hand.

"I still have a few more days to enjoy at the temple." He stated matter-of-factly as he turned back to the others. "Then I'm going to take the rest of the week off. After working for a month straight, you can't say I don't deserve it. And when I get back from the temple, I wanna get some clothes and stuff to fill my room up with you Kim, ok? And then maybe drag someone to the beach. I always wanted to see one that isn't eternally dark like the one at The World That Never Was."

"The world the Organisation used to live in." Namine said amusedly, answering the unspoken question on the others' faces.

"Sure Roxas. A shopping spree sound great." Kim responded, a little surprised by his enthusiasm, but loving the change.

"And I'd love a trip to the beach." Danny cheered.

"Me too, it'll be great." Jake nodded.

"Well, now that your planning session is over, let's head back. Master Fung and the others are probably wondering what's happened to us." Raimundo said, raising his arm lazily into the air. "Golden Tiger Claws!"

With a happy goodbye, Roxas followed Rai through the portal.

Things were finally looking up for Roxas. And the other Guardians couldn't be happier. Despite all the pain they'd received during the fight, the look of pure joy finally crossing the young Keybearer's face made it all worth it. They cared for Roxas, more then even he knew, he was like a new family member to them, just as they were to him. Throughout the rest of the day, they, much like the blond teen, smiled brightly as they could finally relax. They now knew for sure that their ally and friend would be alright.

* * *

**That's the end of that story. I've gotten on a good few people's alert/favourites lists and I have to say thank you for the approval. I wasn't sure how far with this series I would go when I first started writing Valour's Light, but seeing as i definitely have people interested in my work, I've started preparing the plot for the next two 'episodes'. If you are interested in this series (I'd hope so if you got this far), the next one would normally be categorised in the Ben 10, Ubos crossovers, however, as there's only one fic in Ubos period, it'll just be in Ben 10, so at least the storie will be noticed by new people as well as the older fans. So yeah, look out for Valour Guardians 2: Sorceress At The School Of Magic**


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